On the White Line

We kick off our winter show season tomorrow at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, tomorrow.

Ever since we arrived at Artist Check-In the buzz has been about last weekend’s show in Palm Springs. On what started as a quiet day, 90mph winds swept in and decimated the show.

That’s the same storm that blew us right out of Texas… and we only had 50mph winds (I can’t believe I’m saying “only” to that).

We had considered applying for the Palm Springs show, I guess it worked out for the best that we didn’t.

Oddly the general forecast predict very mild winds for this weekend, yet there’s a High Wind Watch and a Wind Advisory in lace for Friday and Saturday… not sure which forecast to trust.

Here’s some footage from the show everyone’s been talking about.

Yesterday started with little hope of any structure. Baby Ida’s air filters and house battery required attention, and since we were passing through Tucson, the time was right for separate trips to the Dodge dealer and the Interstate Battery shop. Either stop had the potential to turn into an all-day ordeal.

This time, we got lucky. Tucson Dodge managed to get us in and out within two hours (but not without lightening our wallet by $150). The timing was perfect to grab lunch with our friend Bit and catch up on all the details from her recent trip to Ireland.

Then we were off to the tackle the battery issue. To our delight, it was under control within a half hour and without any out-of-pocket expense. That gave us time to stop in to visit our friends Dick and Mary Ann. After catching up with them, we had to push on… check-in for our next show was only two days away in Indio, California.

As we drove north from Tucson, Arizona treated us to a fantastic sunset, and at that point we were only 30 minutes from our friends Jim and Betty in Phoenix. A bit more visiting and a friendly driveway where we could spend the night. And their neighbor plied us fresh grapefruits and lemons from his trees.

Somehow, a day of uncertainty turned out to be a complete day of visiting… with some important chores thrown in for good measure.

While passing through Las Cruces, New Mexico, we always make a stop at the old town square in Mesilla, New Mexico and pop into Andeles for a great meal. It’s our little tradition.

After yesterday’s wind storm, we thought we’d be staying at the Walmart in Hereford, Texas, but after two hours, the skies cleared and the winds died down. We pushed onwards to Roswell, New Mexico.

Gotta give this town credit for having a sense of humor about their association with a possible alien incident.

It’s fitting we saw these windmills while passing through Oklahoma… severe winds have been slamming us across the state… some reaching speeds of 40mph – not fun driving.

It made for a rather noisy night in the Walmart parking lot in Weatherford, OK. The drive to Armarillo, TX, promises more wind, so it’ll be another exhausting drive.

We made it to Oklahoma City and temperatures in the 40s. Time to fill the water tank and start feeling like we’re really living onboard Baby Ita.

Scars from the terrible tornado that hit Joplin, MO, last year still show, but it’s clear the city has bounced back. The many shredded buildings and empty lots on the main drag were unnerving enough. I can only imagine what it was like immediately after the disaster.

We’re at year number four of our migration west. It’s become a January tradition to stop at Jim’s Antique Mall in Bethany, MO (we didn’t stop at the Russell Stover shop down the road this time). Here’s the view from about the same spot over the last four years.

January 20, 2012

January 15, 2011

January 13, 2010

January 18, 2009

The temperature is in negative numbers here Des Moines… Hoping to be out of the frigid temps by tomorrow.

Spotted this Valentines Day tree at our friend Lynn’s B&B in Sumner, Iowa.